Weingut Karthäuserhof, Eitelsbacher, Karthäuserhofberg kabinett 2009

There are very few goods on the market so heavily branded as wine. To say the sector is crowded is an understatement – consumers are literally drunk with choice. Marketers are going to increasingly outlandish lengths to turn heads away from their competition. Diamonds in Champagne bottles. Fermentation with meteoroids. How about swapping the traditional bottle for a blown glass ampoules and whacking a $168,000 price tag on it.

The wines that catch my eye are those that ignore the fads and simply let the quality of their product do the talking. No gimmick can outclass a great site, good soil and a gentle pair of hands.

Weingut Karthäuserhof has all three.

The 19-hectare Karthäuserhofberg vineyard lies near the town of Eitelsbacher in Germany’s Mosel and has been owned exclusively by Weingut Karthäuserhof for six generations. For such a high quality vineyard to have avoided sub-division is rare and puts Karthäuserhof in the company of other monopoles such as Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Château Grillet in Condrieu and Coulée-de-Serrant in Savennières.

Being in the carriage of one domain for so long means any vineyard idiosyncrasies have been ironed out over the years and every vintage comes close to perfection.

Planted on decomposed Devon slate, Karthäuserhofberg is known for delivering minerality and acidity to the Riesling grape it nurtures. Fruitiness is important – in this case it’s clean, pure and delicate. But the main draw card of this kabinette is its beautiful perfume. If this perfume was worn by a woman walking down the street… now that would turn heads.